Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) Short Interest Up 9.8% in November

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,230,000 shares, an increase of 9.8% from the October 31st total of 1,120,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 442,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AMP. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $490.00 to $555.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $440.00 to $502.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Ameriprise Financial from $475.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ameriprise Financial from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $485.00 to $476.00 in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ameriprise Financial from $535.00 to $550.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $487.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Walter Stanley Berman sold 8,655 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $564.16, for a total value of $4,882,804.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,409 shares in the company, valued at $3,615,701.44. This represents a 57.45 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph Edward Sweeney sold 10,735 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $549.68, for a total transaction of $5,900,814.80. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,811 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,194,190.48. The trade was a 64.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,715 shares of company stock worth $11,983,436 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.96% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameriprise Financial

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 268.8% in the second quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 59 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc bought a new position in Ameriprise Financial in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Ameriprise Financial by 153.8% in the second quarter. Mascoma Wealth Management LLC now owns 66 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Ameriprise Financial during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameriprise Financial in the second quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 83.95% of the company’s stock.

Ameriprise Financial Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE AMP traded down $5.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $560.29. 142,161 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 469,300. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $525.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $465.01. Ameriprise Financial has a 12 month low of $349.90 and a 12 month high of $577.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Ameriprise Financial Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 4th were paid a $1.48 dividend. This represents a $5.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. Ameriprise Financial’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.73%.

Ameriprise Financial Company Profile

Ameriprise Financial, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial products and services to individual and institutional clients in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: Advice & Wealth Management, Asset Management, Retirement & Protection Solutions, and Corporate & Other.